David Gilmour is 79. Let that sink in for a second. At an age when most of his peers are long retired or playing the same three chords at local charity galas, the voice and guitar of Pink Floyd decided to drag a massive touring production across the world for a limited, hyper-specific run of shows. It wasn't a "greatest hits" cash grab. Honestly, it was something much weirder and more intimate than that.
The David Gilmour Luck and Strange concerts were a gamble. He basically told fans, "I'm not doing the 1970s stadium thing anymore." No "Money." No "Another Brick in the Wall." If you went to the Hollywood Bowl or Madison Square Garden expecting a note-for-note recreation of The Wall, you probably left feeling a bit confused. But if you were looking for the soul of the man himself, you got something better.
The Setlist Drama: Why He Cut the Classics
People were genuinely stressed when Gilmour hinted he might ditch the Pink Floyd "golden era" tracks. He didn't ditch all of them, obviously, but he curated them with a surgical precision that felt... well, a bit stubborn.
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He opened with "5 A.M." and "Black Cat," two instrumentals that basically demand the audience shut up and listen to the tone of his Black Cat Strat (well, actually a Gibson ES-355 for some of those tracks). He played every single song from the new album, Luck and Strange. That’s rare for a legacy act. Usually, you get two new songs and then everyone runs for the bathroom until "Time" starts.
The middle of the set was where it got interesting. "Fat Old Sun" made a comeback—a song from 1970 that he clearly still loves. "Marooned" from The Division Bell was another deep cut that sounded massive in venues like Rome's Circo Massimo. He was choosing songs that felt right for his current voice, which is deeper and a bit more gravelly now. It’s a whiskey-smooth voice, but it’s definitely not the 1973 version.
What the Band Looked Like
Gilmour fired the "robotic" old guard. His words, not mine. He wanted a band that could actually jam and react to him, rather than just playing a MIDI track.
- Guy Pratt: The long-time collaborator on bass. He’s the anchor.
- Greg Phillinganes: A legend on keyboards who brought a jazzier, looser feel to the Floyd tracks.
- Romany Gilmour: This was the secret weapon. His daughter playing the harp and singing lead on "Between Two Points."
- The Webb Sisters: Providing those ethereal backing vocals that Pink Floyd music literally cannot exist without.
Rome, London, and the Power of the Venue
The tour was tiny. Only 21 shows. He didn't do a 50-city slog through the Midwest. He picked "prestige" spots.
Rome’s Circo Massimo was first. Playing in an ancient Roman chariot-racing stadium is a vibe you can’t fake. The weather was hit or miss, but the atmosphere was heavy. Then came the Royal Albert Hall in London—six nights of basically a hometown residency. These shows were filmed for the live album and Blu-ray, and you can tell the band was starting to really "click" by the third or fourth night.
When the tour hit the US, it was just LA and New York. The Intuit Dome and Hollywood Bowl in California, followed by a five-night stand at Madison Square Garden. If you weren't in those two cities, you were basically out of luck. Tickets were brutal. Prices on the secondary market were eye-watering, mostly because everyone suspected this might be the last time he ever tours. At 79, he’s not making any promises about 2027.
The Romany Factor
Seeing Romany Gilmour on stage changed the energy of these shows. It stopped being a "legend on a pedestal" and started feeling like a family business. When they performed "Between Two Points"—a cover of a 1999 track by The Montgolfier Brothers—it was the quietest the crowd got all night. Her voice has this vulnerability that perfectly matches the "older and wiser" theme of the Luck and Strange record.
That Final Solo: Comfortably Numb in 2024
You can't talk about these concerts without mentioning the encore. It was always "Comfortably Numb."
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Some critics, like the folks over at BourbonAndVinyl, noted that Gilmour's playing on this tour felt more aggressive, almost like he was mad at the guitar. On the live recordings from the David Gilmour Luck and Strange concerts, the final solo in "Numb" goes on forever. He isn't just playing the notes; he's fighting them.
It’s easily the best live version of that solo he’s done since the Live in Gdansk era. It’s less "pretty" and more "raw." It’s the sound of a guy who knows his time on stage is finite and wants to leave everything there.
Practical Insights for Fans
If you missed the shows, you’ve basically got one path now: the Luck and Strange Concerts live release. It’s a double album, and the Blu-ray from Rome is the definitive way to see the production.
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- Check the Audio Version: The live album isn't just one show; it's a "best of" compilation from the tour. The version of "Fat Old Sun" on there is arguably better than the studio cut.
- Watch the Rehearsals: The Blu-ray has footage from the Brighton Centre rehearsals where they played to an audience of almost nobody. It’s much more "stripped back" and shows how the songs were built.
- Don't wait for 2026: Gilmour has mentioned he wants to get back into the studio to record more new material. He’s not a "tour dog" anymore. If he does go out again, it will likely be another very limited run in 2026 or 2027.
The takeaway here? Gilmour is still the gold standard for tone. He proved that you don't need to play "Money" to satisfy an audience, as long as you can still make a Stratocaster cry like no one else on the planet.
Actionable Next Steps:
Pick up the Live at the Circus Maximus Blu-ray to see the full visual scale of the Rome performances. If you are a guitar player, pay close attention to the "Scattered" solo—it's a masterclass in using a Whammy pedal without making it sound like a gimmick. Keep an eye on Gilmour’s official site for news on his next studio project, as he usually follows a "new album, mini-tour" cycle.